Gasoline typically contains a mixture of hydrocarbon (H—C) molecules with between 4 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule, and is a liquid at ambient temperatures.
Similarly, other liquid fuels such as diesel or jet fuel are mixtures of H—C molecules with greater H—C chain lengths. Distribution of liquid hydrocarbons for consumption can be by road, rail, pipeline or ships.
The dominant constituent of natural gas is methane which contains one carbon atom per molecule and exists as a gas at ambient pressures and temperatures. Minor amounts of other H—C gases such as ethane, propane and butane constitute the remaining natural gas components.
Natural gas is normally transported to consumers in pipeline because this is the best way to connect production areas to consuming areas. However, transportation of methane from producing areas to consuming areas without pipeline connections requires a different approach.
Long-distance transportation of methane to consuming markets without pipeline connections requires liquefaction to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) prior to shipment typically in fit-for-purpose ships. Similarly, other short-chain hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, butane) are gases at typical ambient temperatures and are moved to consumer markets by pipeline, or in a liquid state in pressurized containers when these components have been separated from each other.
Due to the abundance of natural gas it is traditionally sold at a considerable discount, on a heat basis, when compared to liquid hydrocarbons such as gasoline or diesel, and thus offers a great potential for profitable. upgrading to higher value products.
Upgrading short chain hydrocarbons to longer chain hydrocarbons such as hexane, heptane and octane results in components which can be incorporated in gasoline or diesel blends from traditional refining. Any of these upgraded hydrocarbon chains do not have the impurities associated with conventionally refined product, which typically has minor amounts of components such as sulfur, and would thus be considered to be a ‘premium’ product.
Liquefaction occurs when the temperature of a gas is reduced below its boiling point causing the gas to condense into a liquid. This occurs through using various refrigeration techniques including cryogenic refrigeration to achieve the low temperatures necessary to achieve liquefaction.
Liquefying short chain H—C's and subjecting the liquids to cavitation yields longer chain H—C molecules and hydrogen.
Cavitation is the creation and destruction of cavities formed in a liquid which occurs when shearing forces are applied to a liquid resulting in the formation of temporary liquid-free zones (bubbles). When the shearing forces are removed or reduced, the bubbles collapse suddenly and violently, releasing short-term ‘spikes’ of very high temperatures (in excess of 1000° C.) and pressures (in excess of 15,000 kPa) in the liquid.
These energy “releases” (spikes) are sufficient to alter the molecular structure of fluids and can also destroy any adjacent solid materials. The destructive forces of cavitation were first identified after ship's propellers were developed, well over 100 years ago. Since then, the problem has been extensively studied from a mitigation or avoidance perspective. The problem of cavitation also occurs in liquid pumping systems and has also been studied over the same time span.
Hydrocarbons have been subjected to cavitation processing in order to change the API gravity, reduce the viscosity or convert heavy crude oil into lighter crude oil. Examples of processes and apparatuses for cavitating hydrocarbons are described in Canadian Patent No. 2,266,670, issued to Oleg Kozyuk on Jun. 6, 2006, Canadian Patent Application No. 2,848,468, filed by Oleg Kozyuk et al on Sep. 6, 2012, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,323,479, issued to M. Rashid Khan on Dec. 4, 2012, and 8,691,083 issued to M. Rashid Khan on Apr. 8, 2014 and U.S. Patent Applications Nos. 2003/0019791, filed by Douglas P. Austin on Jun. 17, 2003, 2006/0231462, filed by Raymond Ford Johnson on Oct. 19, 2006, 2011/0265737, filed by Robert Ryan on Aug. 4, 2009 and 2013/0062249 filed by Oleg Kozyuk et al on Sep. 6, 2012.